Here is some information that should help you in how to approach the first Ritual- Sharing Territory. The approach is especially important in how you go about doing nothing with your horse. Sharing Territory in a certain way will help you to establish a deep connection in friendship.
When we begin to share the same vibrations and feeling a peace in the moment, a natural friendship takes shape. It takes no effort or skill just being with your horse and following some simple criteria. Start by sitting with your horse. Read a book, or write in a journal, or any other quiet activity that puts you into the moment will draw your horse to you while you are waiting for him to connect.

To create a true bond with a horse from the horse’s perspective, you need to wait for the horse to come to you first, without tack, and fully able to choose when he would like to get to know you better. This is something humans rarely think of doing. I have found that sharing this little secret with my students has changed their horses’ performances to a complete harmonious dance. For those of you who have not been interested in performance, it will allow you to develop a relationship as deep as the one you could share with your dog.

If you go to the horse and bond with him by pressuring him to bond like the typical round pen approach-the horse learns that it is better to bond than not to. This is a false bond, or a bond that requires many conditions for it to exist. In this case, the horse will always prefer being with other horses than with you. It takes skill to use a round pen to even try to develop a bond and many things can go wrong. It doesn’t take any special skill to sit with your horse and to read a book and share a harmonious space together. If you have forced a false bond, you can start over by Sharing Territory with your horse and it will deepen the bond to a true heart connection that a horse is capable of having.

Sharing Territory without any need for connection is a strong icebreaker and a big draw to a horse. From the pause, your vibrations will begin to match your horse’s. This causes a horse to want to be with you- and both you and your horse’s well-being will increase.

If you would like to share, I would love to hear from you in your own words why the pause has so much power to develop a relationship with your horse to a deeper connection. Also, if you would like to ask any other questions you may have, you can always put them in the comments section in the current blog. It would also be fun if you sent pictures showing the connection in friendship you share with your horse!!